Ruger 45 Long Colt

[woodnstix]

Hi, does anyone have any opinions or experience with the 45 Long Colt? I am thinking of getting one for Handgun Hunting.

[stalkingbear]

Yes the Ruger Blackhawk in .45 colt with long barrel will easily meet and even exceed .44 magnum ballistics when loaded properly. People have been doing it for years. In fact, the Ruger is in the same class of pressure loading as TC.

[woodnstix]

Great! Good to know. Thanks!

[goatbrother]

I own 2 of them, a short bbl and a long bbl. Be carefull of the loads. I never exceed the posted tested load data published in the loading manuals. Safe loads won't be as strong as a 44mag but can easily duplicate a 41 mag. One of my favorite calibers in a handgun. A great round for medium game hunting. The Sierra 240 gr JHC is a favorite with 25 grains of WW 296 and a mag primer.

[stalkingbear]

I would say that the max recommended +P (Ruger & TC ONLY) load of 26.5 gr of H110 under a 250 Hornady XTP with velocity from 7.5" barrel of 1455 DARN SURE exceeds .44 magnum level. http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=45%20Colt%20%20P&Weight=25 0&type=Handgun&Order=Powder&Source=Hod gdon

[game4lunch]

Scratching my head on "Yes the Ruger Blackhawk in .45 colt with long barrel will easily meet and even exceed .44 magnum ballistics". I'm looking at the Federal balistics chart for both, and the .44 mag has over 700 Ftlbs of energy at 100 yards.
The .45 colt, a mere 288.
How does that meet or exceed? I ask because I usually miss something, not because I'm some sort of expert.
I always go to this particular spec because it is the energy in ft. lbs @ 100yds that determine a calibers legality in Wyoning. Although I love the .45 colt, it is not a legal firearm here.

[stalkingbear]

Remember we're talking handloads and/or factory loads loaded to a level safe ONLY in Ruger, Freedom arms, TC, and Marlin lever rifles-NOT the standard colt loading pressure. YES it is safe for loads that exceed standard .44 magnum power/energy levels to be SAFELY fired in Ruger Blackhawks. Please look up Ruger & TC loading levels to better understand. It's a completely different pressure level than loads designed to be fired from colt revolvers or clones.

[Scott Gags]

Game4 the 45 long colt was orginally chambered in pistols the were only built to handle around 18,000 psi loads. So todays standard 45LC loads are limited to this pressure for safety reasons. There are now manufactures producing 45LC+P loads. The components are identical just loaded to around 30,000 psi which is perfectly safe in any of the modern revolvers also chambered in 44 mag.

Here is an example of a +p load in 45 LC.

http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_38&products_id=133

It pushes an 335 grain bulletaround 1300 fps in a 7.5" barrel. This exceeds most 44 mag ballistics.